No 96 Heroes of Old and New
by Madame Weeping Bell
Summary: "You hear that? That's the sound of zombification. It's a silent killer. Every time a zombie is made, it frightens me a little bit more, knowing that I can't help them and that there's another one to try to kill me. It can't be fixed, Aelita." -On hiatus, sorry!-
1. Chapter 1

**_#96:__ Heroes of Old and New  
>Chapter 1<em>**

**_Rated T for swearing, lots of gore, and violence.  
>I do not own Code Lyoko or any character or element mentioned in this fic. This was made purely for the fanbase's enjoyment.<em>**

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><p>"Odd's vlog, day 52. No power, no heat, no water or food, and no. Way. Out. Ulrich's gone out to find more food and water, the rest of us are stuck here in the art room... as usual. Jeremy never came back and we have no word from Yumi. Gee... I hope they're okay. William and Aelita are keeping a close eye on <em>them<em>. There's got to be a way to the factory. I mean, they're just Xana's lackeys, but still. This is _serious_. Xana may have won this time. If none of us make it out alive, I just want to get everything about Xana off my back, but not now. When Ulrich comes back."

"Are you _really_ going to tell everyone about Xana and Lyoko?" Aelita looked at Odd like he was insane.

"Only if I have to." Odd turned off his video camera. He moved to the only window and gazed out. "There's Ulrich!"

William knew the drill. He picked up the blade from the old paper cutter that broke and carefully opened the door. Nothing in sight. He met Ulrich halfway and helped him in.

Wait, wait, wait, wait... I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me start over, from the beginning.

'Twas a normal day at Kadic Academy. Sun shining, students enjoying themselves, teachers sentencing said kids to four hours of detention in the library... one of those kids was William Dunbar, who was late for geometry again. He didn't try to miss because Yumi Ishiyama was in that class, his little crush. It just kind of... happened.

"Y'know, I used to be a troublemaker like yourself, Dunbar. Always skipping class, throwing paper airplanes when the teacher wasn't looking..." Jim Morales looked up from his magazine.

"Really? You don't seem like the kind of guy to do that," William lifted his head off the desk.

"Yep, but I'd rather not talk about it."

William rolled his eyes and closed them again. Of course he'd rather not talk about it. It was Jim Morales, for Pete's sake! He didn't talk about anything about his past. Although he did offer a commando camp for anyone interested. But William Dunbar wasn't the kind of kid who wanted military training from a guy who never talked about it. No, he'd rather play _Galactic Battle_ or ping pong in the newish rec room.

William was lost in his thoughts when he finally drifted off. Dreamt about another world, he did. Another world called Lyoko. He tried to dream about it whenever he could. He loved Lyoko. William never knew where he would end up, in the mountains, Antarctica, a forest... But this time he dreamt about this place in Lyoko he'd never seen before. It was blue and white and had this floating ball protected by two cubes in it. He knew there was something special about this place. William _knew_.

In this particular dream, William was standing in front of this ball, and he knew instantly that it was the core of Lyoko. How? William didn't know. All he knew was that he had to destroy it. It made him angry looking at it. He _hated_ that core, but he loved Lyoko. So... why would he hate its very _center_?

"Attack!" William ordered. For some reason, this seemed _so_ familiar. The first cube blew, leaving only one cube and the sphere. Pretty soon the second cube blew and William advanced on the sphere. He had a wild, crazy, insane, what-have-you look in his eyes as he exclaimed, "for Xana!"

Then he plunged his big sword into a target on the sphere. A smile that matched his eyes slowly spread across his lips as the whole room was lit up. "Victory!"

The farther William pushed his sword in, the brighter and hotter everything became until it was so intense that... that... William woke up.

"Wake up, Dunbar!" Jim shook his shoulders as William rubbed his eyes.

"Hmm?"

"Time to go. What were you dreamin' about, anyway?" the overweight gym teacher put his hands on his hips.

"Oh, nothing." the boy stood and gathered his books. "Just... nothing."

"You okay? You look a little shaken."

"Nah, I'm fine. Just a nightmare, is all. But it was weird, like it was real." William looked at Jim carefully. "Guess I'm just serious about dreams, huh?"

"I used to be like that, but I grew out of it." Jim ushered William out the door. "You know, some people say that dreams are memories."

Lost in his thoughts, William kept his head down and concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other, as slowly as he dared to go. Mindlessly, he arrived at the rec room, completely aware of the people looking at him. He always headed straight for the ping pong table, but this time he set his stuff down by the TV. That was when he noticed Odd Della-Robia giving him the weirdest look.

"What?"

"Nevermind."

William stared at his feet for a while, debating on telling a real Lyoko warrior about his dream or not. Oh, yes, he knew that Odd was a regular on Lyoko, and so was Yumi. He also knew how to defuse a bomb. Yep.

"Hey, William! How 'bout a round?" a girl called from the ping pong table.

"You're on!" William smiled.

That boy was a demon at ping pong. The other girl didn't see what hit her! I mean, yeah, she was good, but not good enough for William Dunbar, Kadic Pong Monster! If the ball had been flying any faster, it _literally_ would have been on fire.

"How do you do it!"

"I... don't really know," William prepared another serve. "It just happens, I guess."

"Teach me!" the girl begged as she swung the paddle and nailed the little white ball. It flew between them and everyone was locked on their intense battle. Everyone watching knew who was going to win, but even the best get beaten sometimes.

"There's nothing I can teach you; it just takes practice." William backhanded and the paddle flung out of his hand. The window behind the girl shattered, sending glass everywhere. The boy stared wide-eyed after it, then took off running toward his room.

"DUNBAR!" Jim Morales yelled at the top of his lungs.

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><p><strong><em>I don't really have anything to say other than that the title of "Pong Monster" belongs to me. So... yeah, don't use it.<em>**

**_BYEZ GUYZ!_**


	2. Chapter 2

_**#96 Heroes of Old and New  
>Chapter 2<strong>_

_**Rated T for swearing, violence, and gore.  
><strong>__**I do not own any character, element, or organization in this fic. It was made purely for the enjoyment of the fanbase.**_

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><p>William received no light punishment for accidentally breaking the window in the rec room. He was suspended from the rec room for three weeks and had ten hours of detention with Jim in the library. Just what William needed.<p>

His first four hours went by slowly and involved studying for a test he had the next day and reshelving checked-in books. Then the day passed and he returned for another four hours of detention. This time two kids named Jeremy Belpois and Ulrich Stern were there to keep him company, although they didn't speak. He overheard bits and pieces of their conversation, though.

"...Awesome what he did... Pong Monster strikes again... helping Aelita study for tomorrow's test..." Ulrich snickered.

"Something's going... factory... know what's _wrong_... find out... and soon," Jeremy kept his voice so low that William had an especially hard time hearing.

He knew he wasn't supposed to talk to them anymore, but he tried anyway. Especially with Yumi. Ever since the incident at the factory, Odd, Jeremy, Aelita, Yumi, and Ulrich had been avoiding him as much as possible. I mean, yeah, he was used by Xana, but he couldn't exactly help that. It was like William Dunbar had never been enrolled at Kadic the way they were acting!

William tuned out and began doodling on his notes... again. Pictures of Yumi, him shoving that huge blade into the core of Lyoko, a pineapple for good measure... and the shattered window, also for good measure.

"Alright, you two, stop your chattering. What's so important?" Jim bellowed. Geez, calm down! You're in a _library!_

"Sorry, sir," Jeremy adjusted his glasses. Then he stood. As he passed William, Jeremy glanced over at the drawings. Jeremy stopped dead in his tracks. William knew he was good, but not _this_ good. "What's that?"

He was pointing straight at the picture of the core. "Nothing, why?"

"Ulrich, come look at this!" Jeremy waved him over.

"What is so special about this drawing! I just saw it in a dream! Calm yourselves!" William sighed in frustration.

"No, William, that actually happened. And you say you saw it in a dream?" Ulrich moved his apathetic gaze to the boy.

"Yeah, but I don't see what that has to do with it being real."

"Belpois! Stern! Dunbar! Keep it down! Some of us are _trying_ to read!" Jim snapped. Obviously, not hard enough.

"Sorry, sir." Jeremy and Ulrich returned to their seats, not paying anymore attention to William or his drawings. Although he caught them glancing over at his notebook multiple times. This time they kept their voices so low that William couldn't even read their lips.

_**(linebreak)**_

"Oh my gosh, I missed you so much!" William threw his arms around the ping pong table. I don't think he's _ever_ been that deprived of something he loved in his life. "I swear I won't do it again! Don't ever leave me!"

"Hey, how about instead of molesting the table, we play a round?" came a shrill, high-pitched voice. It belonged to none other than Sissi Delmas, the principal's daughter and rec room monitor. She grabbed a paddle and casually flipped her hair behind her shoulder as she was passing Ulrich.

William shrugged and popped a stick of gum in his mouth. Taking the side of the net that was _not_ facing the new window, William shifted around the brand new red paddle he got, made custom by the art students when William's punishment was lifted. One one side was the Kadic logo and the words "Kadic Pong Monster" and on the other was "William Dunbar". The old paddle William used was getting too worn to use anyway.

The paddle was light enough for quick and easy movement, but durable enough for even the strongest person to use. As long as it wasn't flung out of any windows, it was useable. William tightened his grip and popped his neck. He let a dangerous smile creep across his lips as Sissi served.

"I hate to tell you this, Sissi, but you'll never beat the Kadic Pong Monster! It's never been done before!"

"Simple beginner's luck, William!" Sissi was already out of breath from all the hopping around and reaching out she had to do.

"I've been doing this for a long time. I am no beginner, in case you hadn't noticed!"

"So? Doesn't mean... you'll never get... beaten!" Sissi huffed. Her dark hair had fallen in her face, but she had no time to tuck it behind her ears, as William had already served. She barely touched the ball, but sent it flying across the table, giving her her second point. "You should be on the ping pong team!"

"I would, but I don't want to make this a living. I just play because it's fun to pass the time."

"Well, that's dumb. Anyone as good as you would join!"

"Match point!" William called as he served. He and Sissi were tied, and whoever won the point won the game. The little ball passed over the net and hit Sissi's blue paddle before flying over the little net and hitting the table on William's side. The ball bounced off the table and made William reach for it. He dropped down and landed flat on his stomach, inches away from the plastic white ball.

Everyone leaned in, eager to see if William would win or not. The lights flickered off right as his paddle approached the ball, and startled the raven-haired boy so much so that the paddle missed and won Sissi the match.

"WHAT!" he shouted, looking at the dead lights in frustration and confusion. "What happened?"

Sissi should have been celebrating that she was the first person to actually beat the Kadic Pong Monster, but she was also confused.

Cell phones began ringing all over the place, William's as well. After glancing at the caller ID, he began speaking into the phone. "Hello? ...Wait, what? Are you sure? ...There's no such things as zombies, Dad... Okay, okay! Geez!"

After hanging up, William calmly walked to his dorm room, only to stop as some teachers whizzed by, some heading to the rec room, some to the cafeteria. William looked in the direction in which they had come, and gasped.

In front of him was Nicholas, one of Sissi's orbits, but he wasn't Nicholas. Well, of course he was Nicholas, but he was more brain dead than usual... and bloody, mangled, and left-legless. His usually dusty blonde hair was matted where he wasn't bald and caked in blood where he was. His face was ashen and eyes rolled into the back of his head. Blood dribbled down his chin from his lower lip. His torso was skinless, exposing his ribcage and lungs. His shirt was torn and anyone could clearly see his heart beating. His waist was nearly cut off, only attached to his body by his spine and a few entrails that were hanging out. His left leg had been severed, leftover skin hanging onto it, blood dripping from the stub that was left. Nicholas was travelling in a slow, mummy-like pace towards William.

William, feeling sick, pelted back to the rec room, but the door was locked. He started banging on it and shouting, "LET ME IN! LET ME IN! HELP ME!"

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><p><em><strong>I hope this gives you nightmares...<strong>_

_**BYEZ GUYZ!**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**#96 Heroes of Old and New  
>Chapter 2<strong>_

_**Rated T for swearing, violence, and gore.  
><strong>__**I do not own any character, element, or organization in this fic. It was made purely for the enjoyment of the fanbase.**_

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><p>"Oh, Jesus! Oh... Jesus! Oh Jesus!" William put his hands on his knees, out of breath and voice hoarse from yelling so much. "What was that?"<p>

"We were in the middle of a conference when Nicholas and a few other people we didn't recognize wandered in," an elderly woman in a lab coat shook her head. "There's _no humanly possible way_ to be alive when you're that... that..."

"Then there's only one explanation for it. He's become a zombie, and so have a few others." Everyone turned their attention to Jeremy Belpois, who was hunched over his laptop, typing in some commands.

"But zombies don't exist... do they? Couldn't this just be a prank?" Sissi piped up, shaking. One of her orbits was a _zombie_?

"They must be, or else I wouldn't have seen one!" William shouted, pointing at the door. "Damn, guys! I nearly got attacked by Nicholas!"

"Uh, guys... there's a bigger problem than just zombies. William, you might find this intersting." Jeremy motioned him over.

"What is it?"

"Xana has somehow rebooted and activated a tower!" they had to keep their voices low. "I don't know how, either! This is definitely bad."

"So... that means that Lyoko is still operational?" a girl with sweet pink hair raised her eyebrows. "Is that possible?"

"Must be, or else Nicholas would still be Nicholas. Anyway, we need to get to the factory, and fast!"

"We can't just leave everyone else! Besides, if this becomes a regular thing, we need to find out more about them. How they became zombies, what their habits are..." Ulrich chimed.

"Ulrich's right," the girl replied. "Observation is best at this time. If it's anything like that Zombieland movie, we'll need all the help we can get."

"Alright... I've got a plan." William pulled a chair into the middle of the room and called everyone's attention. "I think I know what we should do. We can't just go about our normal business with zombie Nicholas on our toes. We need to stay here and watch him, see what he does, y'know? Then we can decide what to do once we know his patterns."

"That has got to be one of the most intelligent things you've ever said!" Ulrich commented. William glared at him, absentmindedly chewing his gum. "What? It is!"

"That's a good idea. Maybe a couple of years and we'll be out of here!" Jim Morales said, sarcasm dripping all around his voice.

William facepalmed. "Look, do you have any better ideas?"

"Well, yeah. Attack them until they all die... again!" Jim put his hands on his hips.

"Okay, okay. Who votes for my idea?" William gazed at the people below him. Out of twenty students, seventeen rasied their hands. "I win, hands down."

Then William remembered something. He had taken his ping pong paddle into the hall, and when he spotted the zombie he must have dropped it. That was when he seriously facepalmed. "I AM SUCH AN IDIOT!"

"What? the pink-haired girl glanced over at him.

"I left my new paddle in the hall!"

"So? Go get it when Nicholas leaves."

"Not that simple, Aelita. Everyone knows that whens zombies see a human, they are by nature inclined to attack the living. Meaning, I stand no chance against a zombie. I'll get scratched. That's how they spread." William dropped into the chair he was just standing on. "I swear, if I ever see another one, I'm going to vomit."

Suddenly, everything got hotter. William was sweating so much that he had to take off his shirt, and several others followed his actions. No use. Still too hot.

The rest of the day passed slowly and nightfall was no more merciful.

It came in the night, it did. Whatever venom Nicholas had was now spreading, creeping into the cafeteria and students' dorms like a ninja lying in wait for its next victim. No one was safe. Not even William, not even Aelita, not even Mrs. Hertz. It turned whoever it came in contact with into a shambling, undead, smelly monstrosity with no way to defeat. There was no cure.

No one slept that night. The screams were too loud and too terrible to ignore. William and Aelita were talking; he was explaining how zombies worked.

"You hear that? That's the sound of zombification. It's a silent killer. Every time a zombie is made, it frightens me a little bit more, knowing that I can't help them and that there's another one to try to kill me."

Another scream filled the quiet night. William shuddered and Sissi whimpered. No one recognized it, but it was one of the worst so far. It was high-pitched and sounded like its owner was in torment, torture, pain, and agonizing death. Of course, whoever it was _was_ dying, just in a different way no one could understand.

"It can't be fixed, Aelita. We are completely helpless. I hate being useless, but all we can do is survive the night and save ourselves. Every non-zombie for him or herself." William continued once the scream died away. "Now I wish I'd never found out about Lyoko, or Xana, or the factory. This is going to scar me for life."

"What'll happen? If we can't get to the factory?" Aelita asked, her voice smaller than normal, losing its melodious tone for the first time. "If we have to live here, forever?"

"When have the Lyoko warriors ever failed to stop one of Xana's attacks?" William nudged her.

"But... how would I get there without getting scratched? I'm the only one who can deactivate the towers."

"You'd have Ulrich, Odd, Yumi, Jeremy, and me, if you needed me." Yumi. Was she safe? Had she screamed so horribly and been zombified? William couldn't bear to see Yumi in so much pain.

"With this many zombies around, we'd need all the help we can get."

Another scream, longer than the rest. Suffering longer than the rest. Who was it this time? William vaguely knew the person the voice belonged to, but he couldn't put a name to it. Matthais? Jackson? This one was cut off abruptly, unlike the others. Zombie.

"Hell, Aelita! This is pathetic, listening to these people dying and coming back to life to kill!" William shook his head. "There's no doubt about it. We have to get to the factory, some way or another."

The boy let out a small yawn and slowly drifted off to sleep. Whatever Aelita had said next, William never heard it. He was too sleepy. He wasn't able to sleep for long, though, because a whole group of people screamed, coming from the direction of the cafeteria. Everyone was jolted awake.

"Oh, Jeus!" William looked in the driection the screams had come from. Then the realization hit him hard: they were only getting closer. They'd all be zombies by morning, and there was nothing they could do to stop it.

This was it. They had to flee now, but with so many zombies out it'd be impossible to get to a safe place. They were doomed.

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><p><strong><em>For some reason I laugh when I write about this stuff. I don't know why, it just does.<em>**

**_BYEZ GUYZ!_**


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